My love of Meigs County began as a young child; I visited many summers with relatives, traversing hollers and river trails. Little did I realize the influence this time would have on my life. When I learned that several of my ancestors had been in the Civil War, I began researching their military history and that of many others from Meigs County. I found research difficult because little had been written in books. What was written was not in any concise order, perhaps only a paragraph or two per book. I hope the information you find here to be a much better represenation of the county and men who served during the Civil War, and will help amateur genealogists like myself to know more about their ancestors; where they fought, if they died, where, and the burial location. There are in-depth details about several battles including Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia and Corinth and Iuka, Mississippi. There are descriptions of over 9,000 men and boys, many who enlisted in Meigs County, Ohio.

“The lively story of the Civil War’s most unlikely—and most uncelebrated—genius” (The Wall Street Journal)—General Montgomery C. Meigs, who built the Union Army and was judged by Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, and Edwin Stanton to be the indispensable architect of the Union victory. Born to a well-to-do, connected family in 1816, Montgomery C. Meigs graduated from West Point as an engineer. He helped build America’s forts and served under Lt. Robert E. Lee to make navigation improvements on the Mississippi River. As a young man, he designed the Washington aqueducts in a city where people were dying from contaminated water. He built the spectacular wings and the massive dome of the brand new US Capitol. Introduced to President Lincoln by Secretary of State William Seward, Meigs became Lincoln’s Quartermaster, in charge of supplies. It was during the Civil War that Meigs became a national hero. He commanded Ulysses S. Grant’s base of supplies that made Union victories, including Gettysburg, possible. He sustained Sherman’s army in Georgia, and the March to the Sea. After the war, Meigs built Arlington Cemetery (on land that had been Robert E. Lee’s home). Civil War historian James McPherson calls Meigs “the unsung hero of northern victory,” and Robert O’Harrow Jr.’s biography of the victorious general who was never on the battlefield tells the full dramatic story of this fierce, strong, honest, loyal, forward-thinking figure. “An excellent biography…O’Harrow’s thorough, masterfully crafted, and impeccable researched biography is destined to become the authoritative volume on Meigs” (The Civil War Monitor).

In Ohio Confederate Connection, Curtis Early, descendent of Lt. General Jubal A. Early of the Confederate States of America, and his wife, Gloria, present facts about the Civil War that may not be widely known. Gloria and Curtis Early have been doing Civil War re-enactments for the past twenty years, in which Curtis portrays General Early and Gloria portrays a southern belle. They give talks at school, libraries, Civil War round tables, encampments, and other events on the significance of the Civil War. Additionally, they travel to many states to do the re-enactments, and they spend much of their time researching various topics related to the Civil War. In 2005, Curtis and his grandson Patrick walked down the Shenandoah Valley, traveling over 170 miles in twelve days. The ground that he covered represented the middle part of General Earlys famous march from Cold Harbor, Virginia, to the gates of Washington in 1864. Curtis has also walked from Hanging Rock, Virginia, to Winchester, Virginia, to raise money for the restoration of General Earlys house in Virginia, which dates to the late 1700s. Curtis and Gloria have written Ohio Confederate Connection together to help people better understand what really caused the Civil War (the War Between the States). Included is a list of recommended reading about the Civil War.